China’s Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rubio hold “positive and constructive” call before APEC

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a “positive and constructive” call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, China’s state news agency Xinhua has reported, with Beijing expressing willingness to strengthen communication and cooperation with Washington.

Wang called for China and the United States to support each other in hosting the 2026 APEC leaders’ meeting and the Group of 20 summit, as the two countries seek to consolidate more stable relations, according to Xinhua.

There was no immediate readout of the call from the US State Department.

The talks come roughly a week ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen, where Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are expected to meet. Xi and Trump have met twice already this year.

Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that work was under way to arrange a trilateral meeting on the APEC sidelines involving Trump, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The call is the latest sign that Beijing and Washington are trying to keep their relationship on a steadier footing even as they compete sharply on trade, technology and security. The two sides have been working through a series of disputes this year, and the APEC summit is seen as an important moment to take stock.

China is hosting the APEC meeting in Shenzhen on 18 and 19 November, and preparations in the city are already under way, including temporary traffic restrictions on non-Shenzhen-plated cars from 17 to 20 November.

Not every leader is expected to get a meeting with Xi in Shenzhen. Kyodo News has reported that the Chinese president is unlikely to hold formal talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the summit, leaving Japan the only major participating country without a meeting with Xi.

The Wang–Rubio call also follows a period of intense diplomacy around the region, including the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi this week and continued tensions over Iran, where Washington and Tehran remain locked in a confrontation that has drawn in much of the Gulf.

For now, the tone from Beijing is deliberately upbeat. Whether the warmth survives the APEC meeting — and the trilateral encounter Rubio has floated — will be one of the main things to watch from Shenzhen next week.